70 | 70 | The virtual environments will enable students to learn the appropriate way of performing orthopedic surgery. The traditional way of surgical teaching involves students first merely observing a ‘live’ surgery and gradually progressing to assisting experienced surgeons. Medical residents also learn through performing surgeries on cadavers; however, these approaches have limitations such as availability, cost and the remote possibility of infections, which limit their usefulness. A Virtual Reality based simulation environment is a practical compromise for addressing these concerns. We are working with Dr. Miguel Pirela-Cruz at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center (TTHSC) in El Paso, Texas. |